Situation
The recent escalations of conflict in Gaza is impacting the lives of everyone living there. The human toll is immense, and more than 2 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Across Gaza, it is estimated that some 85% of the total population have been forced to leave their homes behind and are seeking refuge in shelters, in hospitals, schools or sleep out in the open. More than 1 million people are at risk of hunger. The most affected are women, children and the elderly, with a significant increase in malnutrition among children. The situation is particularly severe in northern Gaza with a warning issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, IPC) that famine could strike any time before May 2024.
The health system is on the brink of collapse with key health facilities, including Palestine Red Crescent Society hospitals Al-Quds and Al-Amal having ceased operations due to hostilities, shortages of medicine, fuel, equipment and staff.
With the fighting continuing unabated, civilians, healthcare workers, health facilities and civilian infrastructure must be respected and protected. Aid, containing vital supplies such as food, water, medication and shelter, is not getting into Gaza quickly enough. Safe and sustained humanitarian access, as well as an unhindered and consistent humanitarian assistance is critical to prevent further devastation.
Staff and volunteers of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement are working day and night, risking – and losing – their lives while helping others. They are seeing extreme levels of death, danger and destruction. Yet, even amid this chaos, they are still doing all they can to reach and give comfort to people experiencing this horror.
Your Support Makes This Possible
Irish Red Cross is providing funding in support of our partners – Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – to respond to these urgent needs. All donations received through our Gaza appeal are directly supporting PRCS and the impacted people in Gaza.
Palestinian Red Crescent Society Response
In Gaza, since the conflict’s onset, Palestinian Red Crescent teams have delivered first aid, emergency healthcare, support of internally displaced individuals, aid distributions, and psychosocial first aid.
In Gaza, Red Crescent/Red Cross teams have:
- Treated over 17,700 casualties
- Supported emergency power supply for 14 hospitals
- Established 14 camps for displaced people providing shelter to 5,100 families
- Helped over 300,000 people access clean water
- Provided psychosocial support to over 58,000 traumatised people
- At the European Gaza Hospital, Red Cross medical teams have carried out more than 1,600 surgical procedures
- Supported more than 50,000 internally displaced people with cash assistance to cover basic needs
Egyptian Red Crescent Response
The Egyptian Red Crescent is coordinating the humanitarian response in getting aid, regardless of which organisation it is from into Gaza. They are also the only organisation with access to the Rafah border crossing.
In Egypt at the Rafah border crossing Red Crescent teams have:
- Set up two portable bakeries currently producing 25,000 loaves of bread per day.
- Established an emergency food supply humanitarian kitchen providing at least 7,000 people with daily hot meals
- Provide support including primary health care, mental health and psychosocial support and help people reconnect with their relatives, at 61 humanitarian service points for people arriving from Gaza, including medical evacuees and their relatives
- Delivered more than 17,000 trucks with 197,000 tons of aid
Last updated April 2024